This invention relates to an automatic planing machine for cutting a work flatly and at a predetermined thickness, and more particularly to an automatic wood planing machine for cutting a wood workpiece.
In general, the automatic wood planing machine performs a flat work for cutting the surface of the workpiece flatly and a thickness determination work for cutting the wood workpiece so as to have a desired thickness. Such an automatic wood planing machine is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 30642/1982. Such a conventional automatic wood planing machine has a rotary cutter block with a blade which is disposed horizontally, a front and a rear tables, stools or bases disposed in front of the rotary cutter block and at the back thereof. The front and rear tables have some feed rollers therein for feeding the workpiece to be cut. A movable base is located, under the front and rear tables, movably toward and away from the front and rear tables. In the case of the flat work, the workpiece is fed along the upper surfaces of the front and rear tables while the lower surface of the workpiece is cut by the rotary cutter block. In the case of the thickness determination work, the workpiece is fed along the upper surface of the movable base with the upper surface of the workpiece contacting the feed rollers provided on the lower face of the front and rear tables. At this time, the upper surface of the workpiece is cut by the cutter block disposed horizontally between the front and rear tables.
In this conventional automatic wood planing machine, when the flat work is performed, the workpiece is fed by hand along the upper surface of the front and rear tables without any feed rollers in one direction, and when the thickness determination work is performed, the workpiece is automatically fed along the movable base in the direction reverse to that in the case of the flat work. This is because the upper portion of the cutter block is used in the case of the flat work while the lower portion of the cutter block is used in the case of the thickness determination work, and the cutter block is rotated only in one direction. Therefore, the machine cannot be constructed compact. Further, it is troublesome that the workpiece must be fed in the opposite directions during the flat and thickness determination work.